- Low cost radiation therapy needed - Bibi Hassan
President and Founder of the Guyana Cancer Foundation, Bibi Hassan has commended the Ministry of Human Service and Social Security’s decision to extend the public assistance to cancer patients. However, she noted that persons in this vulnerable group need more financial aid from the Government.
Last Friday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud announced that the Government’s $18,000 public assistance for persons with disabilities is extended to HIV and Cancer patients.
Hassan, who is also a Cancer survivor, has welcomed the assistance while noting that many of these patients do not work and cannot afford the treatment that is required.
This assistance would be provided to these persons for a lifetime, and they will be receiving it monthly. “I have about 32 members in our cancer club, and they have started to get funds to benefit from this. I even have a young girl, she’s only 12 years old, she has leukemia, she’s in the club too, and she’s not a survivor, she's a fighter… [So] I’m happy that she can benefit from this because they really can’t afford,” the Cancer Survivor related to MTV News Update on Wednesday. While this initiative is welcomed, Hassan believes that persons in this vulnerable group need more financial support from the government, such as a low-cost radiation therapy center in Guyana.
She explained that she has a member who is a retired trained Teacher currently has to pay $1.4 million for the radiation therapy at the Cancer Institute, and she cannot afford it.
“There’s only one cancer institute, and they are taking advantage of the situation because they are the only one in Guyana and I’m hoping and praying we can have another one in Guyana so our cancer patients can benefit.”
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